He has brushed shoulders with numbers of royalty over the years.

And Gyles Brandreth, 76 – who shared a close relationship with the late Prince Philip – has recalled the tense conversation he had with Philip about Helen Mirren‘s drama, The Queen. 

This Morning star Gyles revealed the late Duke of Edinburgh told him he refused to watch the 2006 series due to the ‘inaccurate portrayal’ of his wife.

Philip avoided the documentary because he heard it showed Mirren, who played Queen Elizabeth II, crying – which Philip insisted was false as ‘the Queen never cried’.

Royal biographer Gyles, who knew both royals, also shared why Elizabeth stopped crying over the years.

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Gyles Brandreth, 76 – who shared a close relationship with the late Prince Philip – has recalled the tense conversation he had with Philip about Helen Mirren’s drama, The Queen (pictured shaking hands in 2017)

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Helen Mirren (pictured in the series) won widespread critical and popular acclaim for her portrayal of the monarch in the movie, which also starred Michael Sheen as Tony Blair

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Philip avoided the documentary because he heard it showed Mirren, who played Queen Elizabeth II, crying – which Philip insisted was false as ‘the Queen never cried’ (pictured in 2007)

He was also told by people who were with Elizabeth when she came back from Kenya after her father George VI died, how “calm and contained she was and how she didn’t shed tears”.

Gyles also shared how Philip underlined the strong side of his wife’s character when he admitted that Elizabeth never wept.

He said: ‘The Duke of Edinburgh, I remember saying to me, when I asked him if he’d seen the film of the Queen with Helen Mirren, he [Philip] said “Why would I want to see that?”

‘And he [Philip] got irritated.

‘He [Philip] said “Apparently they have the Queen crying in the film. The Queen doesn’t cry”.

‘He [Philip] said “An actress would cry, would assume the Queen would cry, but she didn’t cry”.’

Gyles added on his Rosebud podcast: ‘He wasn’t saying it was a virtue not to cry.’

The 2006 film The Queen was a historical drama directed by Stephen Frears and written by Peter Morgan.

Peter also created the controversial The Crown series ten years later.

The film depicted the death of Diana, Princess of Wales in 1997.

Helen Mirren won widespread critical and popular acclaim for her portrayal of the monarch in the movie, which also starred Michael Sheen as Tony Blair.

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Gyles has brushed shoulders with numbers of royalty over the years (pictured with Queen Camilla in 2022)

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Gyles is pictured with King Charles in 2022